Marketing consultant, corporate executive, and Assistant Professor of Clinical Management Communication at the USC Marshall School of Business, Gerald Giaquinta, has been named a faculty fellow of the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy (CCLP) at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, CCLP director Geoffrey Cowan announced today.
“This is a great opportunity to further the collaboration between Marshall and Annenberg,” said Giaquinta. “USC’s interdisciplinary approach creates exciting opportunities for faculty research and teaching. I am honored to be named a faculty fellow of the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy.”
As a faculty fellow, Giaquinta will focus on leadership communication in the new economy and the role and impact of public diplomacy on business. With this appointment, Giaquinta joins distinguished USC faculty members such as Sasha Anawalt, Thomas Hollihan, Michael Parks, Patricia Riley, Philip Seib, Roberto Suro, Stacy Smith, among others.
Giaquinta is an expert in strategic communication, marketing, and operational analysis. He has over 25 years of executive-level corporate and agency experience and has advised Fortune 100 and start-up companies. His recent work has been in public-private partnerships. He is the founder of The Giaquinta Group, a strategic communications and marketing consulting firm whose clients have included Visa, Netflix, MGM, Lexus, Daimler, Sony, World Expo, and Grocery Manufacturers Association, among others.
“Through his leadership at the USA Pavilion at Expo Milan, Jerry played a critical role with CCLP to present impactful programming before a global audience,” said CCLP director Geoffrey Cowan. “We are delighted he will join our roster of faculty fellows to pursue important research and programs for students and industry professionals.”
Giaquinta’s professional career began when he was finishing his MPA at the University of Southern California and began working for Eli Lilly & Co., the pharmaceutical giant. Hired in sales, he then became a spokesperson for product and corporate issues. While working, he continued his studies at USC for a PhD in Public Policy and Administration.
Giaquinta worked at Toyota USA for 10 years where he held progressively responsible management positions in public relations, government relations, strategic planning and advertising. While at Toyota, Giaquinta attended Loyola Law School and earned a JD. He was a key member of the Lexus launch team.
Mercedes-Benz recruited Giaquinta as head of North American communications and then as vice president of West Coast operations responsible for sales, marketing, and distribution. He then transitioned from the corporate world to the agency side and became president and CEO of Chiat/Day Communications. Strengthening ties with clients such as Nissan and McDonald’s, he integrated the agency’s communications activities with Chiat/Day Advertising.
Giaquinta later joined Sony Pictures Entertainment. As executive vice president and corporate officer, he worked in all aspects of Sony’s corporate marketing and communications efforts and was the liaison and integrator with Sony Electronics, Sony Music, Playstation, and Sony Corporation in Tokyo. From motion pictures to television to digital entertainment, he coordinated company-wide communications and strategies.
About the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy
Based at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy is a policy center that conducts academic research and organizes programs to develop ways in which communication leadership, policy, technology and mobile innovation can contribute to a more informed electorate and a better world. For more information, visit communicationleadership.usc.edu.